Follow The Leader
by Caustic Effect
Summary: OC x May - Starts in Battle Frontier and boy are they off to a rocky start! Will May and Jason be able to reconcile their differences or is this over before it begins?
1. Chapter 1

**Kanto Region: Wilds**

"There you are. All better!" a voice says, it's owner leaning back and wiping their brow. The Pidgey flaps it's wings a few times and then takes off, calling from the distance as he waves. "It's always good to see another one all healthy, but it gets lonely after they're gone."

The wind rustles through the trees, quiet except for the chatter of different bug type Pokemon in the distance. Short grass grows under the trees, a dirt path between them. The male sighs and takes it all in, wiping some dust from his eyes before he can tear up.

"I've been here for almost a year now, living in a small hut, helping Pokemon and the few trainers that venture through this area. It's amazing how few people travel here unless they're journeying through the Battle Frontier. I'm too off the beaten path for Gym Trainers,"

"Hey Filch, is he flying good?" he calls, looking up the nearest tree. The branches rustle as Filch races down, smile on his face. The boy looks at his purple and cream fur, dull looking from all the dust he's gotten in it recently. He nods and leaps to my shoulder, almost knocking the trainer down. The trainer laughs and rubs his Aipom's head. "I think he's good without us then. You know, we have an empty nest again." 

"Aii..." Filch says, leaning into his trainer and patting his head with the hand at the end of his tail. He's great at comforting, and he always has the best attitude. Both walk into the hut, the trainer pouring some Pokemon food out from a tin. Filch jumps free and starts eating the contents as the trainer grabs an apple to eat.

"You know, I think it's time to visit Grandma and Grandpa again." he says, smiling at Filch, who get's excited.

...

It only takes a few days to travel by foot and Jason is happy when the large building comes into view from the road every now and then. Filch hangs from his shoulders at times and runs in the treetops nearby at others. "Hey Filch, you see any fruit up there?" Jason calls. There's almost immediately a negative reply. No fruit for lunch then.

Jason was prepared though, having a few sandwiches left. He pulls them out and smiles as Filch races down next to him. The two eat together on the move, making contented noises. "No stopping now. We can't be more than a few hours from Grandma and Grandpa's." Jason says, mouth full.

"Ai, Aipom!" Filch calls, excited to be back again. It's only been a few months since the two were here, but they both were happy to be coming back.

"Hey, there it is!" Jason called, the last stretch of road being revealed as they passed the last of the trees. The dirt path lead down, almost straight to the large manse. It's white washed outer walls and blue roofs looking cheery in the sunlight. "Race you Filch!"

The two take off, Filch through the trees and Jason on foot, his lanky 5' 9" form allowing him a wide gait. Jason glances up as they race, laughing as he sees Filch swinging with his tail. "Haha! Cheater!" he yells.

Ahead of the two on the road is a slower moving group. Jason calls for Filch and slows his pace as they approach. The group is made up of six people and three Pokemon. Jason frowns as he gets closer, seeing that one of the Pokemon is being carried on a stretcher.

A frown comes over his face as he takes in the situation. At the lead are two older people. The frown eases as he recognizes his Grandma and Grandpa. The others are strangers. They mostly appear to be younger than Jason. At the front of the stretcher is a boy in blue with a Pikachu on his shoulders. In back is a taller boy with a green shirt and spiky hair. Next to Grandma and Grandpa is a young boy, barely coming to Grandma's chest.

The last has a worried look on her face, her brown hair in pigtails but covered by a bandana. 'She must be the trainer...' Jason thinks as he comes up on the group. "Grandma, Grandpa, how bad is it." he pants. The two elderly individuals turn to take in the ruffled brown hair and blue eyes. They both slowly smile and shake their heads.

"This little one here has got a high fever." Grandma said. "We're bringing them home so that we can treat him."

Jason nodded, looking to the group of friends. "If you caused this then I won't be nice." he warned, turning back to his Grandma. "I brought a bunch of herbs. I'll race back and get out your medicines Grandma."

He didn't wait for a response as he raced off, towards the manse. All playfulness had left him and Filch.

…

May fumed, stomping her foot. "How dare he accuse me of mistreating Munchlax!" She yelled, grinding her teeth, hands clenched at her sides. She stomped her foot again with an angry scream."

"Now be patient with him dear. He's had a hard life, the poor dear." the elderly woman said, laying a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"To say something like that. He must care a lot about Pokemon." Brock said, still carrying the stretcher with Munchlax.

"Caring for Pokemon is his one reprieve from what he sees of the world."

…

Jason slowly unpacked his backpack, hands steady even while his chest heaved. "Fever..." he mumbled. "I don't know what kind of Pokemon that is but it'll definitely need this." He dashed a few tears from his eyes as he pulled down his grandma's medicines, checking the labels and either nodding or shaking his head. The herbs had been tucked away in a box. Jason still didn't know what herbs did what, but he knew enough to collect them for his grandma.

"Aipoooommm..." Filch said softly, causing Jason to turn.

"Don't worry buddy. I'll make sure to be pleasant this time... I still feel really really bad for the last trainer. I didn't mean to scare him..." Jason rubbed the back of his head, thinking of the last time he had helped a trainer. He had accused the boy of abuse when it had actually turned out to be a wild Pokemon's attack that had caused the injury. They boy had just been unlucky enough to have gotten severely lost.

"Jason, are you in here?" Grandma called, breaking Jason from his thoughts. He looked up to see that a good amount of time had passed, at least ten minutes, while he had just been sorting. "Bring the medicine in here dear."

"Of course Grandma." Jason said, picking up the prepared tray. He brought it into the other room as the two older boys of the small group lifted Munchlax onto the bed. Jason set the tray down and backed up so Grandma could work her magic.

"Okay, all of you out for a little bit, give us some room to work." Grandpa said. Jason immediately turned and walked out, the group following. He smiled very briefly then turned and walked back in, shutting the door behind him, carrying a cool pitcher of water over near the bed.

"Here's the water and there's some rags in the drawer already. I double checked to make sure."

"Jason, hold this bottle please, my hands aren't as steady as they used to be." Jason complied, taking the bottle from Grandma. He sat on his knees next to the bed, watching as his Grandma worked.

Finally the elderly women leaned back, pushing a strand of faded pink hair from her face. "Thank you dear. That's all we can do for now, though. Why don't you run along and find that girl. Tell her she can see her Munchlax now. We'll sce-dattle as well."

Jason nodded, standing slowly and setting a fresh rag on the Pokemon's forehead. "Of course Nanny." he said softly, slipping into a younger version of himself. 'Nanny' just smiled and didn't mention it as he walked out.

...

Jason waled into the afternoon sunlight and smiled. The Munchlax was going to be alright, and it seemed to just be a simple flu, his trainer had done nothing wrong.

"Filch, can you help me find the kids that are around here?" Jason asked. "Ai, pom!"

The two split of, walking in different directions, calling out for the small group.

...

"Calm down May, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it." Brock said calmly as May paced the floor. She almost had small anger clouds around her. The others were staying a safe distance back as she didn't stop moving.

"The nerve of that guy! Thinking that I would abuse a Pokemon, let alone my Munchlax! When I see him next, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

Just at that moment the door clicked open, causing May to whirl, seeing the object of her anger step in.

"You!" she yelled, going straight up to Jason and invading his personal space. "How dare you say that I abused Munchlax!"

Jason took a step back, clearing his throat a little. "Listen, I'm sorry for-"

"No, you listen! I may not be the best trainer, but I love my Pokemon and I would never abuse-"

"Hey, I'm trying to say I-" 

"I WOULD NEVER!" May shouted.

"JUST FUCKING LISTEN! You trainers are all the same!" Jason shouted back, his eyes starting to tear up as he thought of all the trainers that passed through this forest. About how many Pokemon they hurt with their training.

May's eyes went wide, then narrowed, her nostrils flaring. Her hand raised and went forward fast. Jason looked up just in time to catch the slap to his cheek. The slap echoed in the room and in the following silence he stumbled back and fell, landing awkwardly on his hip.

All eyes were on him as he looked around the room. His breath caught slowly in his throat as he struggled to stand back up. In his quietest voice, loud enough to fill the silence, he said, "I just came to tell you that you can see your Munchlax."

Jason turned and took a short step, squeaking in pain as he put the weight down wrong. May raised her hand, this time to put it on the male's shoulder, but before she could he ran, leaving those in the room to listen to echoing footsteps.

"Wow May. You really messed up this time." Max said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

...

**A/N: Hi there. Thank you for checking out this story. This is the first I've written in a very long time. The way this came out I'm thinking a very May/OC pairing may be starting.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Nanny and Pop-pop's Summer Cottage**

"My poor little Chimecho!" James called, cradling the sick Pokemon to his chest. He was still sprinting, the two other members of Team Rocket trying to keep up.

…

**Welcome back! This fanfiction is starting as a divergent from the series at the episode "Sweet Baby James". What can I say, I like the Hoenn cast**

…

Jason moved determinately away from the room that contained May and her friends. His hand lifted slowly to rub at his cheek and he winced, sighing. "I'll have to get some ice for this later..." he mumbled, nobody around to hear. 'Well, this isn't the worst start I've had with a pretty girl.'

His wandering brought him to the large, glass enclosed building that held the many Pokemon that his grandma and grandpa helped. He smiled, watching the palm trees and bushes moving slightly through the glass. Fans high in the walls provided fresh air and movement inside the building. The sun was past noon by now and the sun gleamed from the well polished glass.

"Filch! I'm visiting the Pokemon!" Jason called out at the top of his lungs. He knew the Aipom would hear and catch up in his own time. The assumption that he was finished telling May was in that statement as well as Jason didn't give up till the task at hand was finished.

"Hello everyone!" he called softly after entering the greenhouse. It was as quiet as the forest usually was. The sounds of the breeze through the trees and Pokemon in the background. Jason took off his jacket and tossed it next to the door, shaking out his loose sleeveless undershirt to adjust to the warmer temperatures. His dark green jeans were loose enough that they were comfortable despite the heat.

The garden smelled strongly of the tropics and brought a smile to Jason's face. There were plenty of Pokemon here that enjoyed the warmer client. The ones that didn't mostly stuck near the waterfall feature where it was a bit cooler and some bushes from the local area grew. Eyes wandering amongst the trees and bushes, Jason spotted a few Oddish and a Spinarak.

'Wow, everyone here looks just as happy as always.' Coming up to the waterfall, Jason was surprised to see a group of Woopers. "Well hello! You're all new here." Jason crouched down and smiled.

"Woopa!" the first replied, waddling around. The two others approached Jason and walked in circles around him. "Woo woo woo woo!" they chanted.

"Aren't you all cute." Jason said with a smile, patting the Pokemon. Their skin was slightly clammy to the touch but the trainer wasn't put off. "Hey, you guys want to go swimming with me?" he asked. Getting a positive response he started to strip down to his boxers.

…

"This little one is exhausted. It needs a long rest." Nanny said, holding Jame's Chimecho in her arms. She lead the way to the room where Munchlax lay and set the Pokemon on another bed. "Now you and your employees make yourselves at home Little James. We want you nice and comfy here."

She smiled at the three, Meowth and Jesse a bit further back than James was. James just nodded, watching his Chimecho with worry. He hadn't taken his eyes off the Pokemon since they had walked in.

"Of course Nanny. We'll be sure not to be trouble either while we're here." James replied, a sad tone in his voice. Mime Jr. copying his pose. The little Pokemon was mostly remaining quiet and out of the way after Jesse's initial reaction to it.

"Now Little James. You know that there's no way you could be a trouble to us!." Pop-pop said, taking a slight stern tone with him, trying to make sure he understood that.

Meanwhile Meowth and Jesse had been having a whispered conversation.

"Does that Munchlax look familiar?" Meowth asked, his voice slightly accented. He scratched at his head with a claw, trying to think about where he had seen the Pokemon before.

"Now that you mention it..." Jesse replied, trailing off as she looked at the other sick Pokemon. It was on the tip of her tongue. She shook her head, long maroon hair flying back and forth. "I know it, don't tell me." she growled, hands on hips and foot grinding into the carpet.

"Hey, it's that twerp's Pokemon! The one with the bandana!" Meowth said as soon as it clicked for him. "And if there's a twerp's Pokemon that means the twerp's must be around too!" He cringed as a fist landed on top of his head, raising a lump.

"Hey! I told you not to tell me, it was on the tip of my tongue!" Jesse said, her furious attitude dying off quickly. "But you know, this presents quite the opportunity. If the twerps have a sick Pokemon here how far do you think they'll follow when we steal their Pokemon?"

The two snickered evilly and started quietly planning behind James' back.

The door to the room opened and May entered first, a little out of breath. "Oh!" She started, surprised there were people in the room. She bowed her head to the old couple. "I'm here to see my Munchlax. The boy from before said I could see him now."

After her eyes adjusted and she looked up from the head bow she stopped in her tracks, the rest of her friends seeing what she saw at the same time. "Team Rocket! The all shouted in surprise, slightly out of time with each other so it wasn't coherent to those who didn't know what they were saying. (In this case just Nanny and Pop-pop)

"Twerps!" James yelled, surprised. He shushed them right after and ran towards them. "Guys! Long time no see! Can we talk for a second?" He ushered them out of the room as Jason had earlier, but he stayed after the door was closed.

"What are you doing here Team Rocket!" Ash yelled as a challenge, James just shushing him.

Inside, Jesse and Meowth just caught what Ash was saying and grinned at each other. The old couple were still surprised so now was the perfect time to slip away and start with phase one of their plan. The two raced off, scouting out the manse.

"This is hungry work." Jesse said, holding her stomach as it growled loudly. "But there's So many rooms here. Do you think any of the art would be noticed if it went missing?"

"I'm sure it would, but let's stick to the plan and steal Pikachu..." Meowth's stomach gave a loud growl as well, then his nose started twitching. "Hey, I think I smell something good." he said, almost drooling and his stomach keeping up the background noise. "What say we steal a snack before Snatching Pikachu?"

The two grinned and raced off in search of the kitchen.

…

"Now where did your manager and secretary get off to?" Pop-pop asked, looking around the group of youngsters. James stiffened, looking around frantically, Mime Jr. copying him.

"Ah! Where could they have gotten off to!?" he yelled. "Mime mime mime!" James dashed off frantically, Mime Jr. hot on his trail.

"Well, seems like Little James may know where." Nanny said, the rest of the group following at a more sedate pace.

They finally caught up at the kitchen, James berating Jesse and Meowth for taking food. The first two to follow him in were Brock and Nanny. Brock just shook his head at the two while Nanny offered to make dinner, not having realized how hungry everyone must have been.

"Now dear." Nanny said, turning to Pop-pop "Why don't you take these young'uns to the Pokemon house while I get dinner started?"

…

Jason Smiled and stretched at the top of the rock face. He had toned muscles (Keeping in shape was the only thing he considered himself good at) and his boxers were wet. Looking down at the pool he could see the Wooper swimming in a circle. They were a bit further out then last time but he thought he could still make the dive. "Okay you rascals! Here I come!"

Backing up a good ten steps on top of the rock face he started running and jumped at the edge, angling his body so that he would go hands first into the circle of Wooper. The dive took him deep, and he surfaced in a spray of water, coming to the shallow end again and standing as the water sloughed off of him. He shook his head, getting water off of his hair and out of his ears before realizing that he had an audience now.

Jason looked over, brows furrowing as he saw three new additions to the group he already knew was here. Of the three one was a Pokemon. A Meowth to be exact. Jason liked Meowth, they were usually very docile outside of cities. The other two were human, the guy had neck length blue hair and the woman had long maroon hair that seemed to defy gravity. Both had on a uniform of types with a big 'R' on them.

Jason then noticed something else odd. The new woman had her mouth open and was almost drooling as she stared at him. It made him very uncomfortable as all he had on was boxers. And May was blushing.

'Don't go thinking perverted thoughts now Jason. Nope, clean mind is a happy mind...' He blushed himself and turned towards the water to keep himself a bit more modest.

"And this here is Jason. I know Some of you met, but Jason, this here is Jesse and Meowth. And you remember Little James, don't you?" Pop-pop said as introduction. Jason turned again, eyes a little wider.

"Cousin James? Long time no see!" He stepped from the water and approached the blue haired male and hugged him, with one in return.

"I didn't know you were living here Jason. It's been years!"

"Oh, I'm not living here. Just visiting Grandma and Grandpa. I've been trying to help some Pokemon out around here, but I'm not as good as they are. And you know I can't remember which herbs are which."

"Haha, Jason. You haven't changed a bit since we were kids. All you ever do is run around and play with the Pokemon!" James quipped, getting a good laugh from the group.

Jason took a step back, pulling a towel from his back back and drying off. "Hey now! I've got my own Pokemon and I'm learning about taking care of injured Pokemon. I'm not the little kid you knew still." He pulled on his pants and smiled at James, giving a wink. They hadn't changed much from those summers spent together. Both of them playing with each other and the Pokemon.

"Wait, you two know each other?" May asked, looking confused.

"Of course, twer- I mean May." James replied, barely catching himself. "This is my cousin Jason. We used to spend the summers here together!"

May looked surprised at that, looking to Jason as if for confirmation. "Yeah, we were great friends." Turning his attention to the side as he really didn't want to talk to May much, he asked James, "So what have you been up to!? I haven't heard from you for years. You just stopped coming. Oh, and I heard you got engaged."

"Oh, I got busy. I'm running a company now, these two work for me." James waved his hand to indicate Jesse and Meowth.

"Ah, so that's what the uniform is about." Jason said with a nod.

"Sooooo~" Jesse cut in, moving in front of Jason. She took his hands, stars in her eyes. "You and James are related, huh? Does that mean your side of the family is as rich as his is handsome?"

Jason pulled his hands, unable to get free from the vice like grip. "U-uh, could you... let go please..." he muttered trying to pull more away. "And yeah, my side of the family is the same I guess."

Jesse let out her lilting laugh, spinning with Jason in her hold still. The male yelled out, not liking being swung through the air, especially by some crazy woman who he had only just met.

"You and me were meant to be!" Jesse called, her lilting laugh again filling the air.

"Beautifly, String Shot!" May called. The Pokemon did as commanded, String Shot wrapping around Jesse's ankles and tripping her. Jason was released to tumble away from the crazed Team Rocket member.

He got up and brushed the dust from his jeans. "You must like seeing me hit the ground." he said, directing the comment at May. He was serious for just a moment before smiling to the bandana wearing trainer. "Thanks a lot."

'Oh wow, that smile... And the way his eyes sparkle... Get a grip on it May! He still remembers that slap, and the way you lost your temper! There's no way he would like you even a little, you shouldn't be so jealous of Jesse!' May blushed as her thoughts raced. That smile had her snagged and she just nodded wordless to the male who had thanked her.

Brock looked between the two. The way May was blushing, he nodded. He had to try and play matchmaker!

…

**Oh gosh I'm having fun with this! Tel me what you guys think!**


End file.
